04 May, 2009

My friend Mike keeps asking me to post a picture of the almughavars that I have been painting. Below are some shots of 4 of them fully painted, but not based yet. They are from the new 15mm Eureka line of almughavars; there are 16 different poses of line troops, plus an officer. standardbearer and hornblower. I am using them to build a Catalan Company army for DBA. A full army pictorial will follow when the rest of the army is done.

Today's post features my newest army, Early Hungarians. The army list is: III/67bb (1103-1245), 1x3Kn Gen, 1x3Kn, 1x3Cv, 3x2Lh, 3x4Sp, 2x3Ax or 3Bw, 1x2Ps. I painted them on and off during 2008, finishing the knights and basing the army in Spring 2009. They had their debut at Cold Wars 2009 in the Midnight Madness tournament, going 1-1.

I built the army to depict the reign of King Andrew II (1205-1235). I wanted it to be contemporary with my Medieval German and Teutonic Order armies. Andrew II actually invited the Teutonic Order to Hungary during his reign, only to forcefully expel them in 1225. The army could also be used for the reign of Andrew's successor, Bela IV, who fought the Mongols.

I used a mix of figures from different manufacturers and will comment on them in the notes to each picture.

Below is King Andrew II of Hungary and his escort. The king bears the royal arms of Hungary. The goat's head on the left-hand knight was taken from a list of medieval Hungarian emblems. Hungarian heraldry used a lot of stripes, and I used them throughout the army. The king and knight on the right are Gladiator/Black Hat, the other knight is Tabletop.

Next is a side view of the general's element so you can see the flag.
Next up are more shock mounted. The element on the left is Hungarian knights (1x3Kn). Their shields bear a crescent, more stripes and a bull's head. The left figure is Tabletop, the other two are Black Hat/Gladiator. The element on the right is Croatian heavy cavalry (1x3Cv); the right cavalryman is Essex, the other two are Old Glory. A side-shot of of the mounted.
The light horse make this army different from most medieval European armies. The center and right-hand elements are Magyar horse archers. The element on the left is Cuman light horse. The Cumans were used as mercenaries by the Hungarian monarchs. All of these figures are from Gladiator/Black Hat.

Next are the Hungarian spearmen (3x4Sp). These are a mix of Gladiator/Black Hat, Essex and tabletop figures. The shields are painted with typical Hungarian designs, including lots of stripes.Here is a close-up of the spearmen from the side.
Next are the Croatian foot (2x3Ax). These are Thistle & Rose figures, sadly no longer available. They are part of a huge Croatian army I painted in the early 1990s. King Coloman I of Hungary became ruler of Croatia in 1103 and many Croatians served in the Hungarian army. I am particularly fond of these troops as my family is Croatian.

The rest of the Croatian foot in the army are archers (2x3Bw and 1x2Ps). These are also

Thistle & Rose figures, except for one Old Glory figure (middle figure on left element) and one Gladiator/Black Hat figure (right figure on middle element).

This post features an Italian Condotta DBA army. The DBA list is: IV/61 (1320-1495), 1x3Kn (Gen), 4x3Kn, 1x2Lh, 2x8Cb or 2Ps, 2x4SP or 4Pk, 1x4Cb or 4Ax or 4Bd or 2Lh, 1x2Ps or Art. The majority of the figures are from Mirliton with a few exceptions: One stand of Psiloi are Essex, the Light Horse are from Museum and some of the Knights are from Essex. I enjoyed painting the Mirliton figures, they have excellent detail and I look forward to painting more someday.

I painted this army in 2005 or 2006. It is painted as a Florentine army of the early to middle 15th century. I chose Florence because my wife had a great time in Florence on our honeymoon. Despite liking the army, somehow I have never used them in a game; I hope to change that soon.First up is the full army shot.Next is a close-up of the general (1x4Kn Gen). The red fleur-de-lys on a white field was the Florentine coat-of-arms. Here is a side-shot to show the Florentine coat-of-arms.Next are the Knights (4x4Kn). It is fast to paint knights without shields or heraldry! The Light Horse (1x2Lh) are mounted crossbowmen.Below are the pikemen, I really like these figures (2x4Pk or 2x4Sp).

Next are the Crossbow elements (2x8Bw). These are my favorite elements in the army. I normally don't care for 8Bw, but the visual of the crossbowmen behind a line of spearmen with pavises is fantastic. I often take a lot of time to paint heraldry, but this army was a pleasant surprise. I painted all of the shields in one pass, one after another, with no mistakes. This is the only time that has ever happened to me!

Below is a side shot so you can see how the spears project out from the pavises.Here are an element of regular crossbwmen (1x4Bw) and a bombard (1xArt).These are the optional infantry (1x4Ax and 1x3Bd).

Next are the handgunners (2x2Ps). The front element are Mirliton figures and the back element are Essex.

Last but not least is the camp, a section of Florence's city wall. It is a JR miniatures piece mounted on plastic.